Clear benefits for rigid packaging market

Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins,  base chemicals and fertilisers, is offering tangible cost and performance-related benefits to its customers in the rigid packaging market, thanks to the improved properties of its superior flow random copolymer  polypropylene (PP) RJ901MO.

Manufactured using Borealis’ proprietary Borstar?  technology, the RJ901MO grade was launched in 2012 and has already been tested and approved by customers for a variety of housewares applications in which high transparency, improved aesthetic appearance and good mechanical  properties are  essential. For thin wall packaging and houseware applications, such as storage boxes, CD and DVD cases, RJ901MO delivers an overall step-change in performance, less energy consumption and a reduced carbon footprint plus strong visual appeal.

RJ901MO’s high melt flow rate (MFR) of 110 in combination with nucleation enables lower processing temperatures. For packaging converters, this creates the potential for higher productivity through optimised cycle times and energy savings. Compared to MFR 70 materials,  it  is possible to obtain a 20°C reduction in melt temperatures resulting in a 20 percent cycle time reduction.

Alternatively the achievement of a 10 to 15 percent reduction in maximum injection  moulding  pressure, when compared to MFR 70 materials, also brings energy saving potential. In addition, lower moulding pressures contribute to longer life moulds and less maintenance. The grade’s better flowability also enables simpler mould design with fewer runners, for a straight-forward production process.

RJ901MO offers a good balance of stiffness and impact performance comparable to that of MFR 70 random copolymers at ambient temperatures which allows stable stacking of finished articles. The good flow and stiffness combination also makes the material ideally suited to the production of complex shapes or long, narrow lengths. 

Products based on RJ901MO are visually appealing, as a result of the grade’s superior aesthetic performance in terms of transparency and gloss. Enhanced transparency may also be obtained
at low processing temperatures. The grade’s balanced mix of stiffness and impact performance allows for versatile use – an ideal profile for manufacturers such as Sunware BV.

 
Tangible benefits of RJ901MO

Based in The Netherlands, Sunware BV is a l ead i ng manufacturer of plastic storage solutions for the home. When switching from the current Borealis grade RJ470MO (MFR 70) to RJ901MO (MFR 110) on a product in its popular Q-line series, Sunware obtained significant cost and energy savings. Due to the high flowability and good performance of the new grade, a lower processing temperature could be used, resulting in shorter cooling and cycle times and lower energy consumption. Temperature was reduced by 35°C and cycle time by 15.5 percent, resulting in energy savings of 7.7 percent and cost reductions of EUR 39.2 per tonne of material used.

“We are very pleased with the property profile of this grade,” says André Jacobs, Technical Director of Sunware. “It delivers higher flow rates in comparison to standard MFR 70 and its better overall performance means we will be able to implement the grade in a wide variety of applications. Yet another benefit is the fact that using this grade makes our products more visually appealing to our customers.”

“The successful launch of RJ901MO is another excellent example of Borealis’ ValZoom Lebron XIV 14